Interview with new starter, Ian Fraser, Senior Consultant Engineer

Karsons have a new team member and we thought after a few weeks to settle in, we would introduce Ian Fraser to you all as our new Senior Consulting Engineer. In this blog, we ask Ian to share a bit about himself and his role at Karsons…

Tell us about your role with Karsons?

At present, my role is settling in with the FM team doing maintenance auditing, compliance checks and asset registers. I’ve also been involved in data gathering on some sites for purposes of energy or environmental surveys. In the near future, I may have the opportunity to play a role in the design of new or upgraded systems on some of our clients' sites and that's something I'm looking forward to.

With a wealth of experience behind you, what new challenges do you feel working with Karsons will bring?

My role with Karsons represents a change of career direction. Prior to this I have been on the tools as an engineer / working supervisor for different maintenance companies. With such a change in direction, all of my current duties are new to me and everything presents some kind of challenge initially. Everything is a learning process. That being said, I think my previous experience has equipped me to do the job. I’m already enjoying the challenge and think I can bring something of value to the role.

What about Karsons do you find exciting and what made you want to start working here?

With this change in career direction, comes new opportunities & challenges. I’m working in a very different environment with a small team. As a result, it is important to work closely with colleagues to deliver the best possible service to our clients. The team is responsive and helpful which has not always been the case in previous employment. With this, I feel that there is an opportunity to progress and deliver some great results. Also the type of projects and buildings we are exposed to is at the higher end, and prestigious so it’s exciting having such a variety in the types of buildings I am exposed to.

Is there any specific aspect of building engineering you feel has really advanced in the past 10 years?

 The single biggest change has been the emphasis on conserving energy, so called green strategy. This has an effect on all aspects of the service provided by the contractors. All the hardware in buildings that consumes energy is affected by the need to reduce energy consumption. This has implications for the plant and the way it is controlled. This presents particular challenges for older buildings. The challenge could be said to be greatest here because we are trying to help them to reduce energy consumption without requiring large increases in capital expenditure. With that all said, my strength by experience is AC and refrigeration.

As someone who is established in the sector, what would your advice be to young building engineers looking to advance their career as a consultant?

 My advice to anyone looking to come into this role would be first to master a relevant trade. So electrical, AC, heating & ventilation, controls etc. Then to move into building services. This will involve getting an overview of all the plans & systems on sites. The more experience gained the better. It is also important to gain a rounded understanding of the

compliance & record keeping aspect of the job, as this has increased in importance over the last twenty years or so.

Each member of the Karsons team brings a unique asset to the office, what do you think you can bring to the table?

I hope that the wide and varied experience I have had as a contractor will be of use to Karsons. The members of the team all bring different and overlapping skills and experience to their roles and the team in general. I hope that I will be able to provide some advice and direction where needed, and at the same time, learn from all of them. Our clients are also leading property professionals so it’s also important to take on board their requirements and learn about how our role supports theirs.

Rumour has it that you’re somewhat of an amateur chef! Which signature dish would you make for the Karsons team? 

 I’m no Gordon Ramsey but can make a fairly good job of cooking straight forward dishes. Mainly English / British food & a few popular classics, just don’t ask me to make a soufflé. If I had to prepare a dish for my colleagues, it would probably be chicken hotpot made from chicken thighs. It’s a crowd pleaser!

Are you a football fan, and were you at all interested in the Euro’s?

I support Chelsea and enjoy football, yes. I also supported England in the Euros and was happy to see that Karsons also embraced this with the Football sweepstakes. We also watched one of the games in the office.